Smart Mobs
Brannon Cullum
April 6, 2009
MSFS 556
People Power II (EDSA 2), The Philippines, 2001:
“Coup d’Text”
President Estrada is on
impeachment trial for
corruption charges. 11 proEstrada senators vote against
opening damning evidence.
Result: Estrada is
overthrown, his VicePresident is sworn in
Television broadcasts report
that Estrada will not be
impeached
Public outrage: Filipinos start
sending angry text messages,
and share messages to gather
at the capital to protest
Text: WEAR BLACK TO
MOURN THE DEATH OF
DEMOCRACY.
Text: The 11 senators
are pigs! S&@t, Estrada
is acquitted! Let's do
People Power! Pls. pass
At the highest point, 70
million text messages a DAY
were sent
5 days of protests.
Protests are peaceful.
Coordination for
protests done
through SMS.
+1 million participate
Smart Mobs Defined
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A peer-to-peer form of self-organizing and coordinating via mobile
phones for collective action
Coordination and communication of individuals is enabled by the use of
emerging technology, primarily through the use of mobile phones and
SMS.
There is a diffusion of leadership and an absence of centralized
control.
Presence of loose social networks.
The existence of intelligent self-organization on a large scale.
Individuals are in pursuit of collective action with regards to a cause
or goal, primarily political or social goals.
Action occurs off-line, in real time.
How to Smart Mob:
Step-by-Step
• What you need: a plan, a cell phone, contacts
• Determine overall goal/purpose
• Figure out the specific act that will help you to achieve
your goal, the key being everyone participates at the same
exact moment: physically gather at the
• Preparations: select location, have contact information for
people to invite, use social networking site or microblogging site
• Set date and time
• Fast execution, mass distribution (forward the message!)
• Micro-coordination via SMS: forward message to others in
your social network
• Perform collective action, disperse calmly
Traditional Coordination of a
Protest
Central hierarchy coordinates
and organizes movement of
participants
Participants receive
instructions from the top down
Smart Mob Coordination
Minimal hierarchy of power
Self-organization/Diffusion of
power
Power located in loose
networks of P2P linkages 
Collective coordination of
independent actors
Multi-central nodes of
participation
Use of innovative and emerging
technologies
Mobile Phone Use Worldwide
Worldwide, mobile subscribers reached 4.1
billion in early 2009 (ITU), with two-thirds of all
mobile phones in use found in developing
countries
Source: ITU
The Power of the Mobile
Phone
Mobile phones have “unexpected social potency”
Three factors central to use:
1. Mobility
2. Personalization
3. Multimodality
Theoretical Framework
• The organized and networked public sphere
• Swarm intelligence
• Cooperative strategies that enable collective
action
• Threshold theory of social action
• Spreading of memes
“Flash mob” honoring
artist Tony Hart, Tate
Modern, London (2009)
Typology of Smart
Mobs
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“Orange
Revolution”
protesters in tents,
Ukraine (2004)
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Police at Greek riots,
Athens (2008)
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Pillow fight flash
mob, San Francisco
(2009)
Political activism - Philippines - to
protest President (2001), Spain increase voter participation in
elections (2004)
Social activism - Battle of Seattle
WTO protests (1999), Ukraine “Orange Revolution” (2004), Uganda
- protest government’s sale of
national forest (2007)
Art/Performance art - Flash mobs
For fun/Random - Flash mobs of
any and all kinds
Rebellion/Inciting violence Greek riots (2008), Nigeria protesting Miss World (2006),
Kenya - urging violence against
ethnic groups during Presidential
election (2008)
Advertising/Marketing Choreographed dancing smart
mobs (2009)
Flash Mobs
Pointless performance or meaningful act?
• “Self-organized entertainment” - Rheingold
• “The compulsively deconstructed geek-chic
game of the summer” - New York Times
• “A wasted opportunity” - Tom Sander, Kennedy
School of Government
Flash Mobs
…or a great marketing and
advertising opportunity?
Antwerp: Choreographed flash mob dancing
to “The Sound of Music” to promote a reality
show
London: Choreographed flash mob dancing in
a rail station, filmed for a T-Mobile
commercial
“A smart mob is not necessarily a
wise mob.”
• There are potential
dangers and
disadvantages inherent in
every smart mob
• “Mobs” can get out of
control, turn violent
• Smart mobs pose
challenges for
governments and the
police
• What determines the
“success” of a smart mob?
G20 protesters break into a Royal
Bank of Scotland branch, London
(April 2009)
The aftermath of deadly riots in
Nigeria regarding the Miss World
pageant, Abuja (2002)
Why now?
• Technological innovations
and convergence to facilitate
collective action
• Developments in SMS
services, such as bulk text
messages
• Micro-blogging
• Location awareness, geotagging, mashups
http://www.missphones.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/geotagging-with-a-gps-mobilephone1.jpg
Future Trends
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Smart mobs and flash mobs still take place
Ground Crew: on-demand crowdsourcing
Micro-blogging: use of Twitter
The Extraordinaires: on-demand volunteerism
by mobile phone
Sousveillance, increased possibilities for
surveillance and monitoring
Election monitoring, surveillance,
and sousveillance
“The Great Yawn” on Twitter,
3/31/09